Anonymous ID: c9be8f Sept. 20, 2022, 10:46 p.m. No.17553891   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>3893

>>17553872

The Jeep brand traces its history back to the open air military vehicle that Willys-Overland made for the US army in World War II.

 

Officially that car was known as the Willys MB, with the letters standing for Military model B. And earlier proposed car, the Willys MA, was rejected by the government.

 

Due to high demand, the Willys MB was also produced by Ford under licence and officially branded as the Ford GPW. GPW is short for Government contract, Passenger vehicle, Willys design.

 

Within the military it was often referred to as the GP or general purpose vehicle. The commonly held belief is that Jeep name come from the way one might pronounce the two letters GP.

 

After the war ended, Willys turned the MB into a road legal vehicle, and sold it was the Willys CJ or Civilian Jeep.

In 1950, Willys was granted a trademark for the Jeep name. Over the years, the Jeep brand has changed hands many times, first with Kaiser’s merger with Willys in 1953, AMC’s purchase of Jeep in 1970, Chrysler’s takeover of AMC in 1987, Daimler’s “merger of equals” with Chrysler in 1998, Chrysler’s sale to private equity firm Cerberus in 2007, and the company’s subsequent bankruptcy and sale to Fiat in 2009.

https://www.betweentheaxles.net/jeep-etymology-what-does-its-name-mean-what-do-its-letters-stand-for-12217

 

Fiat

Fiat the car company made its first car in 1889. Since then it came to dominate the car market in Italy, although its market share has waned in the last few decades.

 

As it grew, Fiat gobbled up many other native brands, including Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Maserati and Ferrari. The company bought a 20 percent stake in Chrysler when it went through a government-arranged bankruptcy in 2009.

 

In 2014, Fiat completed its takeover of Chrysler, and the North American and European arms are now controlled by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). Other brands controlled by FCA include Dodge, Ram and Jeep.